Interviewer:
And is it so? I understand that you had this deal
with Chess where you would actually be doing songs with the Dells. Did you
then adapt those songs when that deal fell through for Harold Melvin and the
Blue Notes?
Gamble:
No, we never, uh, at that time did
not intend to -- I never thought that Teddy Pendergrass and Harold Melvin
sounded like the Dells. I think the Dells had their own sound and the Blue
Notes had their own sound. Because, see, the Blue Notes was Harold Melvin
and the Blue Notes. Harold Melvin was a key role, had a key role in that
group. I mean, Teddy had a great sound, but if you notice in a lot of those
records Harold Melvin also too was instrumental. And uh, I wouldn't think
that, uh, that the Blue Notes sounded like the Dells at all. Harold Melvin
had an entirely different sound altogether.
Gamble:
Yeah. And they had Sharon Paige in the
group, you know, I mean, so it was two different types of groups, although
both groups are excellent.
Huff:
His stage presence
was unique too, because Harold had those guys doing some very unique
choreography which caught a lot of people's eye, as them being entertainers.
I used to love to watch them.
Gamble:
Yeah, they were
great. Top hats and canes. Like a Las Vegas act like in, in, in the
community, you know? They really put on a real first class show, the Blue
Notes. And so the hit records just enhanced everything that they were
doing.
Interviewer:
In your sound how important was Joe
Tarsia to your sound?
Gamble:
Joe Tarsia was the technician who helped us do one of the
most important things that there is to do, is to get the best fidelity out
of our records. So you have, that's why I say it took a team. It took
teamwork to make Philly International what it was. It took great studios,
great musicians, great artists, great distribution, great promotion people,
everything. So Joe Tarsia worked, he worked almost as hard as we did.
Almost. Maybe even harder.
Gamble:
Yeah, he hung in there.
Gamble:
I just said
almost so that Joe would get a kick out of it. But um --
Huff:
Working seven days a week.
Gamble:
But he worked hard and made sure that we had the best sound that there
was.
Huff:
Around the clock really.
Gamble:
And he worked with us because we were all experimenting.
We were all experimenting so he was cooperative.
Gamble:
Everybody was cooperative with each other.
Gamble:
And there was a lot of pressure, a lot of, a lot of pressure in trying
to put that music together. And uh, we were fortunate enough to be able to
put it all together.
Huff:
Well, you know, it's, uh,
it's different when you really love something that you do. and you, uh, you
have a career doing it, that's a blessing, to me. To do that, I mean, I
think, uh, we dealt with all the stress and the pressures of becoming
successful, but the love for the music helped us deal with all of that. We
used to spend hours and hours and hours in this room. Eating sandwiches. And
uh, we wasn't thinking about that. You know, um, we was just making records.
From Gamble's office to this studio was this, this office was where we wrote
most of the songs, because that's where the piano was. It was only a few
steps from his office into this room so it wasn't that far to go to continue
on the magic. So um, the music, the love, the love of the music helped us
deal with all the stress and everything that goes with it.
Interviewer:
What about Don Renaldo.
Gamble:
Don
Renaldo was very, very important, because he was like the leader of the
orchestra. And he kept everybody together. He made sure that all the
musicians were taken care of, and um, that's a lot of musicians to take care
of. And some of the best musicians in this city. So these were professional
people and Don Renaldo was, he was the leader of the band. He kept
everything together. We could depend on Don Renaldo. And he was in our
corner 100 percent. And, uh, that was that. Don Renaldo was with us all the
way.
Interviewer:
The MFSB orchestra, that was an unusual
mixture of folks.
Gamble:
All kinds of people.
Huff:
The
MFSB orchestra had a combination of all kinds of different people. And
age.
Gamble:
Yeah, and age. The age span was like
--
Huff:
Most of the violin players were like
--
Gamble:
Oh, they were retired musicians, you know,
in their 70s, some of them. Some of the musicians, the guitar players were
teenagers, young guys. You had all different kinds of ethnic backgrounds. So
the music really pulled everybody together.
Huff:
Yeah, that's why you named it that.
Gamble:
Yeah,
mother, father, sister, brother.
Huff:
But you know
what I noticed too? Like, most of the violin players were like, you know,
elderly musicians that's been around, that have played with the Philadelphia
Symphony Orchestra too. But when they, when they started playing, when we
started booking violin players for our songs, this was a new experience for
them, to even attempt to play this kind of music. Because they were rooted
in classical music, but when they started playing in the MFSB orchestra that
opened up their heads as far as what music is about, when they started
playing on those records, and they were playing on some of the best records
that I've ever heard. String players play on a pop record. So they got a
kick out of that, playing that kind of music, after they'd play some
classical, and they'll come over here in 309 and get funky.
[LAUGHS]
Gamble:
And especially when they say the
music go number one on the charts, then they really felt like they were part
of it. And they did play a big part of it. Because we had the best string
section.
Huff:
And we started using them all the
time.
Gamble:
And the horns too.
Gamble:
Horns,
strings, and rhythm. A great rhythm section. And uh, we had a full
orchestra.
Huff:
Where most record companies was
recording with the rhythm section we had the orchestra, which made us more
powerful.
Interviewer:
That more powerful sound, that seems
to fit perfectly with FM. Were you actually recording listening for FM, and
AM in a limited sense.
Gamble:
Yeah, AM was going out,
during the time we were starting to really make, this was around late '60s,
early '70s, that's when FM started to really emerge. And stereo music was,
because music up until that point was mono, everything was mono. And so our
music was basically recorded with stereo fidelity in mind, and that was a
big difference than cutting, thinking mono. Because you could separation,
stereo means that you could separate, put strings on this side and put horns
on this side, and then you have a lot of, a lot of different things you
could play around with. And so I think the orchestra did lend to the
fidelity of our music. And if you listen to it today you really hear the
fidelity of our records.
Huff:
And the arrangements
too. The arrangements on those records. We had, we had, we had guys around
us that new how to voice them horns and write them string parts where it
would just drive a string player crazy because he probably didn't figure
that he had the feeling to play this kind of stuff.
Gamble:
They complemented our songs, all the arrangements. They
complemented the artists in those songs.
Huff:
That's why you heard all that energy.
Interviewer:
How about
Thom Bell.
Huff:
Great. Thom Bell was
great.
Interviewer:
What was unique about his
sound?
Gamble:
Yeah, him and Linda, him and Linda Creed, Tommy Bell and
Linda Creed, they had, uh, they had their own style of writing. And I
thought that their style was, well, was good, was a little more pop, and in
their own way, they had their own messages that they were trying to relate.
"People Make The World Go Around" is a great song. Tommy was a good
arranger, a great arranger. I think that, uh, the Spinners, the Stylistics,
Dionne Warwick, Johnny Mathis, he did a lot of great work.
Huff:
Yeah, and he swings.
Gamble:
And
he worked with us also too. You know, we all worked together.
Interviewer:
He seemed to be very attracted to that high pitched
voice.
Gamble:
Yeah, he liked that. But he had a high pitched voice himself.
Huff:
Tommy worked wonders with the tenors starting with the
Delfonics.
Huff:
Pugee's one of the best tenors, singers.
Gamble:
Then the Stylistics, Russell's got an excellent voice,
tenor. So Tommy was great with tenors. He's a tenor himself,
Tommy.
Huff:
Thom used to sing background
--
Gamble:
We did background on a few records. Uh, the
Stylistics, we did on, uh, a couple of those songs, and uh, Harold Melvin
and the Blue Notes. "If You Don't Know Me By Now", we did the background on
that. Joe Simon. "Drowning In the Sea of Love." Bunny Siegler sang with us.
And Archie Bell. Many of our records, we used to do that background on
them.
Huff:
I'd say, you can't hear your note, huh,
okay.
Gamble:
That was a lot of fun to do those
backgrounds on those records.
Interviewer:
Were you sort of
filling in for folks who weren't quite there yet?
Gamble:
Well, we pretty much knew how we
wanted it to sound. So, uh, we, um, we, you know, we, we did the background
and it turned out good, especially like going to records like "If You Don't
Know Me By Now", that background was part of what helped that record be what
it is. So, um ... it's good.
Interviewer:
I understand that
a lot of producers work, they sort of punch in the part. But I understand
that you liked the full performance. You didn't fix it here and fix it
there.
Gamble:
Well, we like to get a full performance
on an artist when we could. And um, when we couldn't, you know, we'd, you
know, we'd play around with it and come up with the best performance
possible. We always liked for the artist to sound great. So we didn't punch
in too much, you know? Because you get a better feel if it's like a
performance. We wanted a performance and so that's what we were really
trying to shoot for in all our sessions.
Huff:
Well,
the practice, those practice sessions were important. We would rehearse the
group or singer really good before they would attempt to come in the studio.
There would be extensive rehearsals. I mean we would rehearse a lot. And so
when they would come into the studio they would know that song. That's what
we demanded really.